When faced with an event perceived as a threat, or a situation that is highly emotionally charged, the nervous system triggers the fight, flight, or freeze responses.
The amygdala first registers the potential danger, then sends the information to other regions of the brain.
The gland thus signals the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland to initiate the production of stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline, which are produced by the adrenal glands). These hormones then initiate a protein synthesis process that signals certain amino acids to bind to neuronal receptors and remain attached there.
The interpretation of the event, as well as the conclusions drawn from it, will thus become embedded in neural patterns. This will also affect the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory management, the construction of chronology, and the contextualization of experiences. At this stage, the traumatic event is recorded and sealed in our consciousness along with the meaning we have assigned to it, the conclusions we have drawn about our identity, and the negative or diminished self-images associated with it.
After its initial activation, the amygdala will be more deeply affected and will begin to function as a sorting center, filtering everyday experiences through memories and imprints related to the trauma that has taken hold.
So anything that seems to evoke something similar to the original traumatic event will trigger a signal that, in turn, activates the nervous system and leads to the release of stress hormones, as well as the activation of energy charges, feelings, and emotions associated with the trauma.
The contractions that seek to suppress these emotions and energy movements will remain active and become chronic, embedding themselves more and more deeply in the body—in the fascia, muscles, tendons, and organs—creating a form of psycho-physical armor.
This state persists until the trauma is resolved. Everything is geared toward ensuring survival. So until the nervous system registers that the initial danger has passed, it will remain stuck in its freeze response, maintaining a constant state of hypervigilance.
From that point on, the more frequently traumatic memories and the nervous system are reactivated, the more the neural and energetic response patterns become reinforced and entrenched, and the more the effects of dysregulation on the body, mind, and psyche intensify.
Furthermore, once everything has been structured and consolidated, the part of the brain that recorded the experience can no longer receive signals from other parts of the brain that might indicate there is no real threat at that moment. We can therefore no longer overcome the traumatic imprint by countering it with concrete reasoning or a form of rationalization.
The good news is that the nervous system has no concept of time.
We certainly cannot change the past, but we can, at any time, revisit the way trauma takes shape in our experience and heal the original wound to regain our freedom.
Because trauma is embedded in the body and affects all of its functions, we must connect with it and work toward resolving it with the body and through the body.
First, recognizing that trauma (along with the thoughts, emotions, and physical responses that accompany it) is an adaptive response from our nervous system—which seeks to protect us in the face of a difficult situation—helps us gain some perspective.
This helps us understand that trauma is about what we have experienced (internally), but not about who we are: we are not responsible for the wounds and traumas we faced in childhood, nor for the way our nervous system was affected by them, nor for the strategies we used to adapt and survive despite these wounds.
So when the trauma is triggered again and keeps us in a kind of mental and emotional trance, it says nothing about us; it says nothing about who we are. Rather, it tells us about the imprint that has taken root within us in response to the adversity and difficulties we have faced.
Furthermore, during these moments when traumatic energies are reactivated—when we are swept up in the traumatic vortex—the way we perceive ourselves and the world is not reality, but a reflection of the misinterpretations that took root in the original situation.
Indeed, when we are children and face deprivation, emotional wounds, or a significant rupture in the bond of love and connection with our loved ones, we sense that something is wrong.
However, we lack the necessary perspective to see that the problem may stem from the fact that our parents are too stressed, grappling with their own wounds or traumas, or overwhelmed by emotions they cannot control. The feeling that “something is wrong” then translates into “something is wrong with me,” since it is within us, in our bodies, that we sense the disruption. This then leads to negative self-conclusions that attempt to explain why we are the cause of the breakdown in the bond with our parents. A sense of self-deficiency is then created, along with a whole host of judgments and new associated emotions and feelings.
The negative judgments and self-images that color our experience when trauma is triggered therefore say nothing about who we truly are; they are merely a reflection of the erroneous conclusions we have drawn from those moments of adversity.
Once this sense of distance has been established—by sensing the form the trauma takes on a physical and kinesthetic level, by opening up to the emotions and feelings it generates, by feeling the energy charges and physical tensions present, and then by affirming the choice to let the experience unfold— we will release the body from the tension that arises when we refuse to feel.
In the space thus created, blocked energies will be able—at their own pace—to start moving again, and emotions will be able to unfold as they move toward resolution. Breaking free from a frozen state in this way will allow the amygdala to exit its state of activation, which goes hand in hand with a more comprehensive integration within the nervous system.
Once the nervous system begins to self-regulate, it will be able to process the experience along with its emotional and energetic aspects.
The sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for activating the entire body in stress and survival mode, will then calm down.
The parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for restoring balance and recharging our batteries, then takes over and helps us return to a state of calm.
Neural connections will then gradually break down. The rational left hemisphere, which is hyperactive during trauma, will lose its dominance. This will also be accompanied by a dissolution of the personality structures that had been built around strategies to try to restore a higher level of security and to compensate for deficiencies and wounds.
Contact with the Self and with our innermost qualities can then be restored, since there is no longer any need for dissociation.
We thus come to realize that trauma can be viewed not as an inevitability, but as a tool or a gateway that opens the door to deeper, more authentic aspects of our experience, allowing us to reconnect with our true nature.
As these words from the Gospel of Thomas suggest:
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you have failed to bring forth will destroy you.”
To put it another way: Unresolved trauma has such a potential to cause disruption and disorganization that it is destructive and causes immense suffering.
On the other hand, if we encounter and embrace it, it has the power to bring us back to the experience of our original Self, our divine aspect, and to reconnect us with our qualities of peace, stillness, freedom, unity, compassion, and love, while freeing us from illusion.
Patrick Boulan